Monday, January 17, 2011

last week was butt freezing cold here. like in the negatives. so i needed something to keep me busy and happy in the house. and well valentines being around the corner...well when you are a crafter and trying to create things for the holiday... it's right around the corner.this little pillow is fast and easy and well, a happy maker in freezing temps.lets get started:

materials needed:a strip of pink or red fabric approx size of 6" by 12"two squares of muslin (i used sandcastle fabric i had on hand in my stash) cut to around 10" by 10".

okay now lets get started with the sewing:

first you are going to put your machine on the running stitch. mine is a #5.sew a 1/4" seam along both of the long sides of your pink fabric.**while you are sewing your running stitch, hold slightly your thread up above, by the spool of thread. this will create your gather as you go.do the same thing to the other side.here is what your gather should look like.next you are going to take your muslin squareand you are going to place right side facing away from you, the gathered piece of fabric on the wrong side of your fabric.pin in place and then sew around your square.next with a washable pen either free hand a heart (which is what i did), or make a template by folding in half a piece of paper and cutting a heart half on it (you know like you used to do in elementary!), open up and trace your heart onto the right side of the muslin.next sew on your heart line.now to make sure you don't cut any part of your gather, gently separate your muslin from the gathered fabric behind it.with scissors, cut an opening, and then continue (making sure you don't cut any of your gathered fabric!) to cut close to your sewn edge of the heart.

cut down your muslin if you want a smaller pillow, and cut the backing square to the same size, place right sides together, sew all around all four sides leaving an opening at least 4 inches wide in one side for stuffing.

turn right side out, stuff with poly fill, and hand stitch closed.all done!and there you have a super cute little festive valentine pillow.

**warning, your daughter may find it too cute for it to be wasted out in the living room, and she may confiscate it and put it in her room. i'm just sayin.it's okay, she can have it. it looks cute under her dolly's head anyways.maybe i should make her a matching dolly quilt...hmmmm.have a good one we'll talk soon.comments closed

Yay!!! The 3 year old girl and I have been on a hunt for Valentine's sewing projects! This is perfect :-) She even pronounced it so. Can't wait to get started... as soon as we finish our little heart prayer flags...

this is a amzing. your fabirc choices are spot on! i have a bunch of fabric hanging around, but nothing like that. i am working on a heart pillow for our bed, so maybe i can make this one for my family room!

super cute! i've been all out of creativity due to morning sickness but just today was feeling the urge for a fast, simple, but adorable project and this is it! thank you thank you! love your blog (even though i'm the worst commentor ever- but i am a faithful follower!!)

So Smashing !!! Beginning sewer here....so tell me which string do you hold to make that beautiful ruffle...and with which hand...and hold it up where....maybe just a ruffle tutorail with this method would be helpful...for a lil' ole beginner.

thanks guys!april, to answer your questions:1.the thread on the top of your sewing machine, where the thread comes off the spool. 2.hold it with your right hand (in the picture it looks like my left hand because i'm taking the picture with my right hand...i'm my one person show over here!)3. no need to hold it up anywhere, just give it some tension with your fingers, this will make the gather happen on its own.4. maybe i will do a tutorial just on that method! but for right now i hope that helps a bit!

Thanks for the fun idea! I just made one for my house! It was an immediate hit with my girls....we will have to see for how long it is really mine!! I may make some more with a ruffle or some fun rick rack on the edge too!

What a darling pillow! You are SO creative, and I'm so glad you share so many good ideas!

Quick question for you: I'm making your eat. play. sleep. repeat. quilt (baby coming soon), and was wondering if you have a complete pdf file for an alphabet of those letters, or if you knew where I could find one. If you do, could you please let me know. Thanks so much!

hey liz, you know i used to get sandcastle in quilt stores (like the specialty ones) but this one is from moda and it's from the "lily and will" collection and it's called "quilted texture ivory" at least that's what it says on the their site. on that line there's also a waffle texture fabric that might be fun to work with as well!

Thank you so much for the WONDERFUL tutorial. I broke out my sewing making that hadn't been used for 8 years and did this project. Of course mine wasn't as cute as yours because I just used what I had on hand but I still adore it. Hope you don't mind me posting a link to my results at my blog:http://hobbiesmakemehappy.blogspot.com/2011/01/gathered-heart-pillow.html